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A Brief History of Stephen Hawking 轮椅上的天文奇才──史蒂芬．霍金

课文朗读

课文讲解 

繁體中文譯本

Mathematician, cosmologist, and celebrated genius, Stephen Hawking has, at age 67, already outlasted his life expectancy by 45 years. The fact, that he has spent much of his adult life confined to a wheelchair, however, has done nothing to keep his mind from roaming the limitless universe.

他是位数学家、宇宙学家及举世闻名的天才，现年67岁的史蒂芬．霍金早已比他原本预计寿命多活了45年。事实上他大部分的成年生活都局限在轮椅上，但这却无法阻止他的心灵徜徉于浩瀚无垠的宇宙中。

Many know him for his contradiction: that one of the most brilliant brains of a generation is trapped within a paralyzed body. But, as far as Hawking is concerned, despite his exceptional intellect, he is not all that different from anyone else: “If, like me, you have looked at the stars, and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist,” he says.

很多人都因为这样的矛盾才认识他，当代最聪明的人之一，却受困于瘫痪的躯体。但是，对霍金而言，除了绝顶聪明，他和其他人并无两样。他说：「如果你曾像我一样凝视着星辰，努力为眼睛所见找到合理的解释，你就也已经开始思索宇宙存在的问题了。」

Born in England on January 8th, 1942, precisely three centuries after the death of astronomer and “father of modern science” Galileo, Hawking studied at both the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Devoting his time to answering what he calls the “big questions,” Hawking never left the world of academia. Since 1979, he has held the esteemed post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a position that Isaac Newton once occupied.

霍金在1942年1月8日出生于英格兰，这天正是「现代科学之父」──天文学家伽利略逝世300周年的日子。霍金曾于牛津及剑桥大学就读，他将时间都花在回答他所谓的「重大问题」上，且从未离开学术界。1979年起，他接受了备受尊崇的剑桥卢卡斯数学教授职位，而牛顿也曾担任该职。

Hawking’s research revolved around the scientific laws that govern the universe. He has explained how the universe began with a time of accelerating expansion and shown that it is always expanding. Things that perhaps you thought existed only in sci-fi novels, like black holes and the Big Bang, have also been proven by Hawking. These great discoveries are made all the more incredible when the physical limitations of the man who made them are considered.

霍金的研究围绕在主宰宇宙运行的科学定律。他曾解释宇宙如何在最初的一段时间急速扩张，并表示它目前仍持续扩大。你以为可能只在科幻小说中出现的东西，像是黑洞和大爆炸等，霍金也都──证实了。想到这些重要发现都出自一位身体受限的人，就令人觉得更加不可思议了。

Vocabulary

单词发音

celebrated [ˋsɛlə͵bretɪd] adj. 著名的

roam [rom] v. 闲逛﹐漫步; 漫游

universe [ˋjunə͵vɝs] n.（常大写）宇宙

contradiction [͵kɑntrəˋdɪkʃən] n. 矛盾

trap [træp] v. 使落入圈套（或困境）

as far as someone is concerned 就...而言 from the point of view of someone

intellect [ˋɪnt!͵ɛkt] n. 智力

precisely [prɪˋsaɪslɪ] adv. 精确地

devote 将……奉献（给）[（+to）]

esteemed [əˋstimd] adj.【书】受人尊敬的

occupy [ˋɑkjə͵paɪ] v. 担任（职务）

expansion [ɪkˋspænʃən] n. 扩展；扩张

all the more 更；愈  even more

limitation [͵lɪməˋteʃən] n. 限制

More Information

单词发音

mathematician [͵mæθəməˋtɪʃən] n. 数学家

cosmologist [kɑzˋmɑlədʒɪst] n. 宇宙论者

outlast [ˋaʊtˋlæst] v. 比……命长

life expectancy〔人或动物的〕预期寿命

paralyzed [ˋpærə͵laɪzd] adj. 瘫痪的

astronomer [əˋstrɑnəmɚ] n. 天文学家

academia [͵ækəˋdimɪə] n. 学术界

post [post] n. 职位

revolve around 旋转; 以...为中心 to center upon someone or something or to be primarily concerned with someone or something

accelerate [ækˋsɛlə͵ret] v. 加快; 加速

课文朗读

课文讲解 

It was when Hawking was 21, and becoming increasingly clumsy, that he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. Intelligence and emotions are unaffected by the illness, but gradually the signals that the brain sends to the muscles cease to work. Despite doctors giving him two years to live, Hawking married soon after the diagnosis and went on to have three children with his first wife, Jane Wilde.

霍金21岁时行动愈来愈不便，被诊断出罹患肌肉萎缩症。他的智力与情感能力虽不受疾病影响，但渐渐地，大脑传递给肌肉的讯息停止运作。然而，即使当时医生宣告他只能再活两年，他在诊断确定后不久便与他的第一任太太珍．怀尔德完婚，婚后育有3名子女。

Over time, the scientist grew more dependent on others. He began to use an electric wheelchair, and in 1989 lost his ability to speak. A computer with a voice synthesizer was specially built for him, and this, along with his wheelchair, is now synonymous with his image. Today, Hawking retains use of just a few facial muscles. He sends information to the synthesizer via a gadget that senses movement of his cheek, caused by the blinking of his eye. Although he can still communicate, it can take him 20 minutes to convey even the shortest of sentences.

随着时间过去，这位科学家越来越仰赖他人的帮助。他开始得用电子轮椅，且在1989年时失去说话能力。他有一部配有声音合成器的特制计算机，这个以及他的轮椅都成了他的招牌形象。目前，霍金只剩脸部少数肌肉还能动，他靠眨眼的方式，使能侦测他脸颊动作的装置将讯息传送至合成器。虽然他仍能沟通，但即使再短的句子，也得花上20分钟才能表达。

Hawking has received numerous awards, including 12 honorary degrees, a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) from the Queen of England, and the Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama. However, for the average person, his greatest legacy may be his popular science book A Brief History of Time. At the top of best seller lists for a record-smashing 237 weeks, the book is said to have sold one copy for every 750 people on Earth. Such success shows that as long as there are people as inspirational as Hawking, we will always seek to understand why we’re here and where we came from.

霍金得过无数奖项，包括12个荣誉学位、英国女王授予的大英帝国司令勋章，及美国总统欧巴马颁发的总统自由勋章。然而，对一般大众而言，他最重要的功绩或许是他的科普书《时间简史》。该书打破纪录，蝉联最佳销售排行榜冠军达237周，且据说全世界每750人便拥有1册。如此非凡的成就显示，只要有像霍金一样鼓舞人心的人物存在，我们就会不停地寻求生命存在的原因与起源。

−by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

clumsy [ˋklʌmzɪ] adj. 手脚不灵活的; 笨拙的

diagnose [ˋdaɪəgnoz] v. 诊断

emotion [ɪˋmoʃən] n. 情绪，情感

signal [ˋsɪgn!] n. 信号

cease [sis] v. 停止，终止

dependent [dɪˋpɛndənt] adj. 依靠的；依赖的[（+on/upon）]

along with 和...一道; 连同

retain [rɪˋten] v. 留住; 保有

facial [ˋfeʃəl] adj. 脸的；面部的

convey [kənˋve] v. 传达，表达

honorary [ˋɑnə͵rɛrɪ] adj.〔职位﹑职务〕名誉的﹐名义上的;（学位等）名誉上的

medal [ˋmɛd!] n. 奖章，勋章

brief [brif] adj. 简略的，简短的

More Information

单词发音

motor neuron disease 运动神经元病

illness [ˋɪlnɪs] n.（某种）疾病

synthesizer [ˋsɪnθə͵saɪzɚ] n. 合成器

synonymous [sɪˋnɑnəməs] adj. 同义的；同义词性质的; 相同的; 近似的

gadget [ˋgædʒɪt] n. 小巧; 设计精巧的机械[装置]

commander [kəˋmændɚ] n. 指挥官，司令官

smash [smæʃ] v. 打破

as long as 只要...on the condition that

inspirational [͵ɪnspəˋreʃən!] adj. 鼓舞人心的

Reading Questions

1.  Which of the following is NOT true about Stephen Hawking?

A. He shares his birthday with Galileo.

B. He has lived much longer than doctors predicted.

C. He has shown that black holes really do exist.

D. He can now control only by a small number of his muscles.

2.  According to the article, where do Hawking’s academic interests lie?

A. In studying the stars at night.

B. In copying the career of Isaac Newton.

C. In gaining as many degrees as possible.

D. In using science to answer questions about the universe.

3.  How has motor neuron disease affected Hawking?

A. It has stopped him from having a family.

B. It meant that he was able to win many awards.

C. It has caused him to slowly lose control of his body.

D. His intelligence has decreased because of the illness.

4.  Where would this article most likely be found?

A. At the beginning of A Brief History of Time.

B. In a book called The Greatest Minds of the Century.

C. In a science textbook called Advanced Stargazing.

D. In an astronomy magazine called New Discoveries.

Cosmic Journeys : Supermassive Black Hole in the Milky Way Galaxy

Cosmic Journeys : The Largest Black Holes in the Universe

History Channel - The Universe - Beyond the Big Bang

 Stephen Hawking: Asking big questions about the universe